Dinos take final trip to Bison’s University Stadium to open 2011

For the first time since 2007, the No. 4-ranked University of Calgary Dinos open a Canada West football season against a team other than the Saskatchewan Huskies when they face the Manitoba Bisons Saturday afternoon in Winnipeg.

All three season openers in the past three years have left the Dinos facing a 0-1 record heading into Week 2 of the season, and Calgary will look to reverse that trend with a victory Saturday afternoon, live on Shaw TV (Channel 10 Calgary) and qr77.com.

It will be the Dinos’ last regular-season visit to Manitoba’s University Stadium, the last field on the circuit that still features natural grass. The field conditions when the teams met in 2010 were abysmal after a week of rain in Winnipeg, and the mud and slop had a significant impact on the game’s result – a 26-25 Calgary victory that followed a Bison charge with 22 points in the second half after the Dinos built up a big first-half lead.

Calgary has won the last four head-to-head meetings between the teams, dating back to the 2008 season. The Bisons’ last win came in 2007 when they won 35-28 in Winnipeg en route to capturing the Vanier Cup.

The two teams enter the opening week of the season after opposite results in the exhibition week. Calgary dominated the Alberta Golden Bears in their intra-provincial tilt last Saturday in Lacombe, Alta., cruising to a 49-14 win reminiscent of their 56-3 triumph in the 2010 Hardy Cup. Manitoba, meanwhile, dropped a 15-7 decision to the Rams in Regina last week.

The Dinos and Bisons also find themselves on opposite ends of the Canada West pre-season coaches’ poll: Calgary received two first place votes and finished ranked No. 2, while the Bisons are projected to finish out of the playoffs after tying for fifth place with Alberta.

Here’s a look at the two teams:

No. 4 Calgary Dinos (0-0)
Last week: defeated Alberta 49-14 (non-conference)
Next week: host UBC

The Dinos find themselves in a unique situation heading into 2011. With three straight conference titles and back-to-back Vanier Cup appearances in tow, the Dinos once again enter the ultra-competitive Canada West season without the services of seven former All-Canadians, who either moved on through graduation or cracked the Canadian Football League. Five starters on offence are gone, including offensive linemen Paul Swiston and Alex Krausnick-Groh, receivers Anthony Parker and Nathan Coehoorn, and two-time national MVP quarterback Erik Glavic.

The roster for Saturday, however, won’t differ much from the one that defeated the Bisons in 2010. Eric Dzwilewski started at quarterback with Glavic injured, Parker also missed that contest with an injury, and the run tandem of Dzwilewski, Matt Walter, and Steven Lumbala – all of whom return in 2011 – combined to run for 355 yards in that contest.

Despite the turnover, the Dinos do return significant talent. Dzwilewski was the CIS rookie of the year in 2010 after going 4-1 as a starter in place of Glavic, Walter is a former conference MVP and All-Canadian, while linebacker Sam Hurl was the defensive player of the year in the conference last season.

Calgary has also brought in some important new blood as well, and many of them showed well in the non-conference game last week against Alberta. Receiver Jake Harty from the Calgary Colts hauled in four passes for a total of 99 yards and added another 117 yards on kickoff returns, and he will look to replace some of the big-play potential the Dinos lost with the departures of Parker and Coehoorn. Another receiver, Chris Dobko, enters his third year with the Dinos in 2011 and had a spectacular outing against Alberta, grabbing eight catches for 149 yards and two touchdowns.

Defensively, the Dinos welcome 2008 CIS rookie of the year Jordan Verdone from the University of Waterloo along with five-year Calgary Colts transfer Zach McNeill – both of whom will significantly shore up the linebacking corps. The secondary is experienced, athletic, and well-coached, while the defensive line is anchored by 2009 CIS rookie of the year Linden Gaydosh.

Calgary returns home next week to face the UBC Thunderbirds in their home opener, KICKOFF 2011, at McMahon Stadium on Friday, Sept. 9. Kickoff goes at 7 p.m. MT.

Manitoba (0-0)
Last week: lost to Regina 15-7 (non-conference)
Next week: @ Alberta

Bisons head coach Brian Dobie has called his 2011 team what “could be the youngest team in the history of this program,” and sees significant turnover in the Brown and Gold heading into the 2011 season.

After a 2-6 record last year, Khaleal Williams returns for a second full season as the Herd’s starting quarterback. In the backfield, however, the Bisons have several new faces after the departures of Matt Henry and James Gerardy. Kienan LaFrance of the Winnipeg Rifles was a two-time CJFL player of the week in 2010 and will look to fill that hole to an extent, but he’s joined by Nic Demski – a pure freshman out of Oak Park High School – and Anthony Coombs.

Last week at Regina, the Bisons were reasonably successful through the air with Williams completing 7 of 13 passes for 112 yards and a touchdown, but he was also intercepted twice in Manitoba’s 15-7 loss. Coombs was the leading rusher with 64 yards, while veteran Stu Schollaardt was their top receiver with three catches for 39 yards.

On the defence, linebacker Thomas Hall returns for a fifth and final season with the Bisons after being their team leader with 42.5 tackles last year. Veterans Pete Adams and Teague Sherman anchor a secondary that is relatively experienced compared to other positions.

The Bisons head to Edmonton next week to face the Alberta Golden Bears.